So, I tried getting rid of my television. That worked for a while, but now the internet has stepped right into the footprints that television left behind.
And I don't mean that surfing the internet all day is just as bad as watching TV all day, though it can come close.
What I mean is, I can watch TV on the internet all day. I've become an expert at finding websites that can provide me with television. I can recite a list of websites that stream video for free, and I can describe all the contortions an interested viewer has to go through to download a torrent of a movie for free, without giving up any important personal information to a phishing site. There are a lot of tricks to getting TV off of the internet!
I find myself wondering why the TV network websites don't just offer their shows, with commercials, on their sites. Some do, but most don't. The ad revenue generated would more than make up for any revenue lost by a loss of off-web viewers. And it would be so much easier for me then -- I could get the shows, in high-quality, from the network sites, and I wouldn't have to go searching for them on bootleg sites and spend a bunch of time monkeying around.
Is this a valuable use of my mind? Thinking about such things? No.
Have I bettered myself, learning all the labyrinthine protocols required to download a TV show for free? Absolutely not.
Could I have bettered myself, using the time spent on these frivolous pursuits? With almost absolute certainty.
I told myself that I would not start watching any new shows. That way, once I'd watched all the shows in a series, I wouldn't have anything new to compel me to watch TV. I have not been able to keep this promise to myself, however. I've watched many new shows since making that decision.
Why do I do it? Why do I start watching a new show? Usually, I've heard about it from someone else, and I feel like I'm missing something good. Sometimes, I see advertising about the show, and it excites me. It gets my imagination going, wondering what they've come up with.
But my imagination isn't too stimulated. The advertising just tickles my brain a little bit, creates a desire for more.
My brain likes to experience new forms of stimulation, apparently, and seeks them out. For some reason, books aren't good enough. I'm trying to read more, lately. But I'm not making enough time for it. I wait until I'm ready for bed, usually after watching an hour or two of internet TV, and then once I'm in bed, my eyes are closing and I'm too tired to read.
I've been hearing a lot about the law of attraction, lately. I'm trying to make use of it to improve my life. From what I understand, we are like a tuning fork. We have to resonate with the same frequency of the life we want to attract. We have to believe that we are already in that life, so that we can create those wavelengths and find our better life.
I'm not explaining it in the best way, but it's basically this: become the person you want to be, and you'll be it. It's called manifestation. Believe it, and it will be.
If this sounds like The Secret, that's because The Secret is based on this same principle, but the law of attraction is not as silly as The Secret. The Secret would have you believe that if you imagine mountains of money pouring through your door, mountains of money will literally pour through your door, burying you up to your knees. The Secret also really focuses on the material side of things.
The law of attraction can be used for materialistic goals, but it is put to better use for spiritual goals, life goals, personal goals. Imagine yourself as the person you'd like to be. Visualize yourself as that person -- how do you look? How do you feel? What does a typical day look like for you? What did you have to accomplish to get to where you are in your life? How does it feel to know you accomplished those things?
As you visualize this, you are resonating with the frequencies of that desired life. But the visualization is important as well. You are preparing yourself for what you must do. It's an internal pep talk. But you are also practicing -- by feeling how it feels to be that desired version of yourself, you are internalizing the attitude, the perspective, the personality of that better you. You are reprogramming yourself. You are changing yourself into a person who knows what steps need to be taken to become that better you (because you visualized them), and this time, you'll be able to succeed at those things, because you know you can do it. You've already done it, in your visualization.
This is all to say that, I want to use these methods to break my television habit. TV is eating my life. I only have one life ... why should TV have it? I want to possess my own life.
The person I visualize is determined, ambitious, driven. She is inspired, and an inspiration to other people. She is creative, and respected. She is very productive, and always has several projects going on. She finishes one project, and moves on to the next one. She is happy that she knows so many different things, and can do so many things. Her life is very full, and she is satisfied with it.
I've seen what that person looks like, and what her life is like. I've felt her satisfaction, and her happiness. I feel how good her creative inspiration makes her feel. It's better than TV. It's all hers. She made it, and she thinks it's awesome. Every day is better than the last, as she grows more and more, spiritually, intellectually. She is prolific. She is accomplishing everything she ever wanted to accomplish, and more. She wastes no time. She makes use of every moment. She is proud of herself. She feels very good about herself.
Do I ever imagine this person lolling in front of a screen? Wasting hours, taking in some movie or TV show? Letting her wonderful, full life slip through her fingers? No.
In fact, I know that one of the things she had to accomplish to get to where she is in life, was to stop watching TV. She had to give it up. She had to find a way to not be tempted by it. She still needed to use the internet, for work, for research, to communicate with people. She used a program called LeechBlock for Firefox (I use this now). LeechBlock is a free add-on that blocks certain sites. You decide which sites leech your time, and enter them into LeechBlock.
I recommend this for anyone who has a problem staying off certain sites. It's not just for TV sites. Facebook, news sites, gossip sites, YouTube -- they all leech time from us.
The problem for me is, LeechBlock is adjustable. I can turn it on, or off. I can decide when, which days, and for how long it will block me out. So, instead of just blocking myself entirely, I'll allow myself an hour a day on a TV site. Or, sometimes, I'll turn LeechBlock off, to watch TV for an unlimited amount of time.
I tell myself that the hour or two I spend watching is a well-earned break, but it isn't. It hasn't been earned at all, and it's eating into my work time. You see, I work from home a lot of the time, and my work has been suffering due to my TV time. My screen time in general -- TV, Facebook, and all the other distractions -- has been negatively affecting my work productivity and quality. Unfortunately, I have to use the internet to do the work. It can't be avoided. I must be online, at least long enough to check email periodically, and to research various work topics.
While I'm online, I'm inevitably tempted to check Facebook, or to download or stream some TV.
I'd have cut myself off entirely from TV sites, a long time ago, but I felt like moderation was a better way to go. I thought I could handle it. I thought I could just watch a couple hours a week, just the really good shows, and be done with it. But I couldn't -- soon I was watching things I'd seen before, and turning to online TV "channels" that had a non-stop, 24-hour stream of movies and TV. I started streaming movies to be "background noise" while I worked, but ended up watching the movies instead of doing the work.
In fact, that's what was happening just before I started writing this post. I was sitting and watching online TV that I'd originally turned on as background noise, and then I got sucked in and wanted to watch it. The movie was about a man whose life is flashing before his eyes as he dies. He has to come to terms with his life. He's tormented by his failures, and is almost dragged to hell by them, but he learns to embrace what was beautiful in his life, and so he instead goes to an idyllic afterlife.
It got me thinking about my own life. What would torment me? What would I be proud of? What were the beautiful moments in my life? What would be things I wished I had done before I died?
And that got me to thinking how I was wasting precious pieces of my life, putting the brakes on my life, with my TV addiction. How I may never get to where I want to go, if I keep spending so much time watching TV.
I've been here before, at the place of this revelation. Each time I arrive at this thought, I feel so convicted. I feel so determined to succeed. I know all the reasons that I should stop watching TV, and I want to stop. I've written about it, in previous posts.
Maybe it will be different this time. Maybe, if I can keep that better version of me in the forefront of my mind, and continue to resonate with her frequency, I'll remember what I'm doing, and why, and I won't even feel the need to watch TV. Maybe I'll be inspired to succeed at living my life the way I want to live it. It sounds so simple, and it just may be.
I encourage you to stop what you're doing right now, and take two minutes to visualize the person you'd like to be. Get really detailed. Imagine your face, picture yourself doing the things you want to be doing. Get inside the head of that person and feel their feeling and think their thoughts. Hear them speak. Remember their accomplishments that got them there. They are you. They are you when you succeed, and you are taking the first step towards that success right now. Go.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
To Keep Our Senses of Humor
Just for a little perspective:
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television
(This was originally posted in 2006, and I deleted it, thinking the link didn't work, but as it turns out, it does work. Enjoy!)
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television
(This was originally posted in 2006, and I deleted it, thinking the link didn't work, but as it turns out, it does work. Enjoy!)
It Has Been a Long Time
It has been almost three years since I posted on this blog. Part of that is my fault, but part of it was blogspot's fault. There was some recurring error with my login and password, and the email address I'd originally used to start this blog, and I wasn't able to edit the blog for quite a long time.
It could also have had something to do with the fact that I was travelling for a part of the time, in Africa, and the internet is not as good there, the machines are buggier, and there could have been firewall problems, etc.
Long story short, I am back, and I am still a television addict. This was recently proven to me by Netflix Instant Play feature. I am a Mac user, and escaped the first inception of this product when it first debuted, back in 2008 or so. The licensing hadn't yet been sorted out for Mac users, and so I couldn't watch movies from Netflix instantly, over the internet.
I was frustrated at the time, but relieved as well. I would be spared the temptation. Which was good, as I was quite unhappy at that time in my life, and would have abused it. As I am abusing it now.
I returned from Africa, where I had no television and no instant Netflix, last year. I did watch some tv programs on my computer, but they had to be painstakingly downloaded over several visits to the internet cafe, which was in the next town, a 45-minute taxi ride away. It was no picnic, and I felt I had earned the right to indulge in those programs a little.
But here, back in the States, I have access to everything at the touch of a button again. I recently reinstated my Netflix account. They worked out their issues with Mac, and I was able to Watch Instantly for the first time a few months ago.
I told myself I would be careful with it, and that I wouldn't watch it too much, but things have gone swiftly downhill, and I have slipped into my old ways. You see, I was laid off over a month ago, and have yet to find another job. In addition, I have been having difficulties with my love life. I have returned to a city where I once lived, and things just aren't quite the same. Many friends have moved on. I am questioning my career path. I have very little money. I must constantly fight the feeling that I am a failure in many ways. I am very unhappy and discontent.
This past month, I have been spending a lot of time at home, in the room I rent. I have been sitting and staring. I have been watching entire television series, sometimes in just a few days. Episode after episode after episode. I have not been doing things I need to do in order to make my life better. Simple things, easy things.
I have been feeling absolutely awful about myself. I have been feeling like I am worthless, and hopeless, and have nothing of value to offer the world. I have been feeling like a pathetic lump.
Tonight, I cancelled my Netflix account. I am an addict, and I cannot risk the temptation. I am not strong enough. I must recognize my limitations. There is no such thing as moderation, not until I have more things to fill my life with, until there is no room for tv.
If you have read this, and it has helped you in any way, please post a comment, even if it is blank and anonymous. I'd like to know if someone's reading.
It could also have had something to do with the fact that I was travelling for a part of the time, in Africa, and the internet is not as good there, the machines are buggier, and there could have been firewall problems, etc.
Long story short, I am back, and I am still a television addict. This was recently proven to me by Netflix Instant Play feature. I am a Mac user, and escaped the first inception of this product when it first debuted, back in 2008 or so. The licensing hadn't yet been sorted out for Mac users, and so I couldn't watch movies from Netflix instantly, over the internet.
I was frustrated at the time, but relieved as well. I would be spared the temptation. Which was good, as I was quite unhappy at that time in my life, and would have abused it. As I am abusing it now.
I returned from Africa, where I had no television and no instant Netflix, last year. I did watch some tv programs on my computer, but they had to be painstakingly downloaded over several visits to the internet cafe, which was in the next town, a 45-minute taxi ride away. It was no picnic, and I felt I had earned the right to indulge in those programs a little.
But here, back in the States, I have access to everything at the touch of a button again. I recently reinstated my Netflix account. They worked out their issues with Mac, and I was able to Watch Instantly for the first time a few months ago.
I told myself I would be careful with it, and that I wouldn't watch it too much, but things have gone swiftly downhill, and I have slipped into my old ways. You see, I was laid off over a month ago, and have yet to find another job. In addition, I have been having difficulties with my love life. I have returned to a city where I once lived, and things just aren't quite the same. Many friends have moved on. I am questioning my career path. I have very little money. I must constantly fight the feeling that I am a failure in many ways. I am very unhappy and discontent.
This past month, I have been spending a lot of time at home, in the room I rent. I have been sitting and staring. I have been watching entire television series, sometimes in just a few days. Episode after episode after episode. I have not been doing things I need to do in order to make my life better. Simple things, easy things.
I have been feeling absolutely awful about myself. I have been feeling like I am worthless, and hopeless, and have nothing of value to offer the world. I have been feeling like a pathetic lump.
Tonight, I cancelled my Netflix account. I am an addict, and I cannot risk the temptation. I am not strong enough. I must recognize my limitations. There is no such thing as moderation, not until I have more things to fill my life with, until there is no room for tv.
If you have read this, and it has helped you in any way, please post a comment, even if it is blank and anonymous. I'd like to know if someone's reading.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Where Has All the Real News Gone?
Well, I've been sick today. I didn't have any classes scheduled today, so I was going to be home anyway, but I did have a lot of work to do. My tonsil has swollen up for no particular reason and with no warning, and I'm feeling a general malaise. This has made me want to screw off and not do any of the work I had to do. I didn't really want to do any of that work anyway, and only needed the slightest of excuses to put it off.
So, what have I been doing since I got up? I watched some of the cable "news." I was particularly disgusted by CNN's Headline Prime "news." The segment I was watching was actually a talk show, run by an extremely conservative host who was spewing invective at the camera. His face and upper torso were featured prominently on the right side of the screen. Factoids and bullet points from his dialogue popped up on the left side of the screen, as well as relevant photos. And beneath his image was the news ticker, and a logo for CNN Headline Prime. A less than alert viewer might mistake this for a real news program, though admittedly they'd have to be pretty unobservant.
The turn that cable news has taken in recent years is very disturbing. Since when has it been the reporter's job to tell us how to think? Sure, there might have been a slight spin on the reporting, but there was never such blatant and unabashed opining as has been displayed lately. Despite the logo decrying otherwise, this was not news at all. It was editorial, and should have been unequivocally labeled as such. Newspapers keep opinions to the op-ed section where they are clearly marked. Such boundaries have been blurred to obscurity on cable news.
I actually felt like I was in some futuristic dystopian movie as I watched this guy spitting and thrusting his finger at the camera, surrounded by all the markers and indications of journalism. It was confusing and contradictory. Who was behind it all? Who wanted to project these ideas and images into people's heads? Who was watching and absorbing it all? Who would be parroting this fascist tomorrow because they saw this "news" program today?
People can't be manipulated quite as well through other forms of media as they can through television. Yes, radio can be pretty powerful, but it doesn't have the added oomph of visual stimuli to further distract our senses and slip in more subliminal messages. Newspapers and print internet have still images, but a person has to read the words and hear them in their own internal voice.
I guess we have to lump internet tv in with regular tv, but there's a bit more intention to using the internet -- a user has to point and click, and usually the segments aren't streaming. Usually they are short clips, and as such leave room for more thoughtful digestion after viewing. Soon enough though, technology will catch up and there will be streaming video for all "news" channels online.
Long story short, I changed the channel. I went searching for a nice, decent movie to while the next 2 hours away. But I couldn't find anything that I either hadn't seen already, or that seemed entertaining. Daytime tv can be so drab. So I put in a video instead. I'd just bought it from the thrift store for $3. I'd seen it before but it was a favorite of mine.
Eventually I lost interest in the video too. And I noticed how very depressed I was feeling. I don't know if I would have been feeling depressed anyway, because of my tonsillitis, or the boring work I still have to do, or the general gloomy weather outside, but I thought maybe the tv had something to do with it.
So I turned it off and started typing out this blog entry. Writing this has been therapeutic for me. I've felt productive, and I've felt like I have some control over my life, and what I do in it. I don't have to watch tv all day just because I'm sick. I don't have to watch tv just because I have a bunch of work I'm procrastinating. I can do something else. Right now, that something else is writing this entry. Once I'm done, I will do another something else.
As I mentioned in the last entry, I can look this sucky day in the face, and say "Hey, you sure do suck a lot. I'm going to find some way to make you suck less." And I can guarantee that one way NOT to make it suck less is to turn the tv back on.
So, what have I been doing since I got up? I watched some of the cable "news." I was particularly disgusted by CNN's Headline Prime "news." The segment I was watching was actually a talk show, run by an extremely conservative host who was spewing invective at the camera. His face and upper torso were featured prominently on the right side of the screen. Factoids and bullet points from his dialogue popped up on the left side of the screen, as well as relevant photos. And beneath his image was the news ticker, and a logo for CNN Headline Prime. A less than alert viewer might mistake this for a real news program, though admittedly they'd have to be pretty unobservant.
The turn that cable news has taken in recent years is very disturbing. Since when has it been the reporter's job to tell us how to think? Sure, there might have been a slight spin on the reporting, but there was never such blatant and unabashed opining as has been displayed lately. Despite the logo decrying otherwise, this was not news at all. It was editorial, and should have been unequivocally labeled as such. Newspapers keep opinions to the op-ed section where they are clearly marked. Such boundaries have been blurred to obscurity on cable news.
I actually felt like I was in some futuristic dystopian movie as I watched this guy spitting and thrusting his finger at the camera, surrounded by all the markers and indications of journalism. It was confusing and contradictory. Who was behind it all? Who wanted to project these ideas and images into people's heads? Who was watching and absorbing it all? Who would be parroting this fascist tomorrow because they saw this "news" program today?
People can't be manipulated quite as well through other forms of media as they can through television. Yes, radio can be pretty powerful, but it doesn't have the added oomph of visual stimuli to further distract our senses and slip in more subliminal messages. Newspapers and print internet have still images, but a person has to read the words and hear them in their own internal voice.
I guess we have to lump internet tv in with regular tv, but there's a bit more intention to using the internet -- a user has to point and click, and usually the segments aren't streaming. Usually they are short clips, and as such leave room for more thoughtful digestion after viewing. Soon enough though, technology will catch up and there will be streaming video for all "news" channels online.
Long story short, I changed the channel. I went searching for a nice, decent movie to while the next 2 hours away. But I couldn't find anything that I either hadn't seen already, or that seemed entertaining. Daytime tv can be so drab. So I put in a video instead. I'd just bought it from the thrift store for $3. I'd seen it before but it was a favorite of mine.
Eventually I lost interest in the video too. And I noticed how very depressed I was feeling. I don't know if I would have been feeling depressed anyway, because of my tonsillitis, or the boring work I still have to do, or the general gloomy weather outside, but I thought maybe the tv had something to do with it.
So I turned it off and started typing out this blog entry. Writing this has been therapeutic for me. I've felt productive, and I've felt like I have some control over my life, and what I do in it. I don't have to watch tv all day just because I'm sick. I don't have to watch tv just because I have a bunch of work I'm procrastinating. I can do something else. Right now, that something else is writing this entry. Once I'm done, I will do another something else.
As I mentioned in the last entry, I can look this sucky day in the face, and say "Hey, you sure do suck a lot. I'm going to find some way to make you suck less." And I can guarantee that one way NOT to make it suck less is to turn the tv back on.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
How Not to Make Your Life Better
It's been a long time since my last post. I must admit, I am still watching tv. But lately I've been turning it off a little more frequently. I'm currently taking some classes, and it's been out of sheer necessity if I'm going to get my work done.
However, for a long time now, I've been watching tv when I should have been studying. I've been telling myself it's a stress reducer, a harmless distraction from homework that I'm avoiding. I also tell myself that I'd avoid the homework whether I was watching tv or not, so I might as well watch the tv. But I don' t know that that's really true. I would probably procrastinate, but not for as long as I can procrastinate while that tv's on.
Tonight I switched off the tv, long before bedtime I might add, and I instantly felt a sense of relief. My body suddenly relaxed, just like that. The television was making me tense. The noise and the stupidity and the flashing lights. All of it was irritating me at a very basic level.
The sense of relief I felt reminded me of why I often speak of quitting tv. And it reminded me that I hadn't posted in quite a while. I tell myself I haven't posted on this, or my other website, or emailed some of my old friends, or started learning Spanish, or picked up the guitar, or written a book, because I don't have enough time. What with my classes and everything. But that's not true. I've made time for oodles of television this past year. Hours and hours that could have been better spent doing something real.
But a girl's got to relax -- I can't be working and being productive for all of my waking hours. That's not healthy either! Right?
Well, that is true. Self improvement shouldn't be done at the risk of our health, mental or otherwise. I'm not talking about a rigorous program of self improvement that accounts for every waking moment, with checklists and agendas and timetables. And I'm not talking about working myself to death out of some Protestant belief that idle hands do the devil's work.
I am all for idleness! Lie around in a hammock, stare out the window at the clouds, watch the grass grow, do a crossword while drinking your coffee for an hour, play with the cat, read gossip magazines, light matches and shake them out, over and over. Whatever. Eventually you'll get bored and then it will be time for the next step -- what to do instead of watching tv.
It's hard, I know. The tv is calling you, and it's so easy. Just sink into the couch and click on your favorite show. Ahhh, all your old friends, getting into some new adventure that you haven't seen before. Boy, that's funny. Oh, so dramatic. That's compelling television! Wow!
Yes, but at what cost? We are talking about your life here! Your precious, miraculous life, dribbling away in spurts, with occasional interruptions for a word from our sponsors. Sweet Jebus, it makes me want to cry.
And it's my life too! My life that's being pissed away! And I'm doing it to myself! Me and millions of others like me! So many people in this world pissing large chunks of their life away every day! It's tragic. Worse than tragic -- I think it is making the world as a whole a much worse place to live in.
I wouldn't say that people are losing their souls to television, but I will say that people put their souls on hold when they watch too much tv. And a soul cannot grow while it is on hold.
A bit melodramatic, I realize this, but I really feel that this is true.
Some people say that they only watch good tv, tv with a message, or educational shows, or only well-crafted programs with good acting and a lot of thought behind them. That's all fine and good, but if it's more than a couple hours a week, they are still stunting their own personal growth by sitting there in front of that tv.
No matter how educational a show is, you shouldn't sacrifice hours of your own precious life watching it.
Life is so very precious, even if it's horrible. People often say they watch tv to escape reality, because reality is so awful a lot of the time. I say look life in the face, and say "You suck, life! But I'm going to spend my time seeing how I can make life better, even if it's in the smallest ways."
And my friends, you can't make your life better by watching tv. It will never happen. Everyone can see the truth in that statement.
Turn off your tv today and ask yourself how you can make your own life better, in some small way, tomorrow.
Good night.
However, for a long time now, I've been watching tv when I should have been studying. I've been telling myself it's a stress reducer, a harmless distraction from homework that I'm avoiding. I also tell myself that I'd avoid the homework whether I was watching tv or not, so I might as well watch the tv. But I don' t know that that's really true. I would probably procrastinate, but not for as long as I can procrastinate while that tv's on.
Tonight I switched off the tv, long before bedtime I might add, and I instantly felt a sense of relief. My body suddenly relaxed, just like that. The television was making me tense. The noise and the stupidity and the flashing lights. All of it was irritating me at a very basic level.
The sense of relief I felt reminded me of why I often speak of quitting tv. And it reminded me that I hadn't posted in quite a while. I tell myself I haven't posted on this, or my other website, or emailed some of my old friends, or started learning Spanish, or picked up the guitar, or written a book, because I don't have enough time. What with my classes and everything. But that's not true. I've made time for oodles of television this past year. Hours and hours that could have been better spent doing something real.
But a girl's got to relax -- I can't be working and being productive for all of my waking hours. That's not healthy either! Right?
Well, that is true. Self improvement shouldn't be done at the risk of our health, mental or otherwise. I'm not talking about a rigorous program of self improvement that accounts for every waking moment, with checklists and agendas and timetables. And I'm not talking about working myself to death out of some Protestant belief that idle hands do the devil's work.
I am all for idleness! Lie around in a hammock, stare out the window at the clouds, watch the grass grow, do a crossword while drinking your coffee for an hour, play with the cat, read gossip magazines, light matches and shake them out, over and over. Whatever. Eventually you'll get bored and then it will be time for the next step -- what to do instead of watching tv.
It's hard, I know. The tv is calling you, and it's so easy. Just sink into the couch and click on your favorite show. Ahhh, all your old friends, getting into some new adventure that you haven't seen before. Boy, that's funny. Oh, so dramatic. That's compelling television! Wow!
Yes, but at what cost? We are talking about your life here! Your precious, miraculous life, dribbling away in spurts, with occasional interruptions for a word from our sponsors. Sweet Jebus, it makes me want to cry.
And it's my life too! My life that's being pissed away! And I'm doing it to myself! Me and millions of others like me! So many people in this world pissing large chunks of their life away every day! It's tragic. Worse than tragic -- I think it is making the world as a whole a much worse place to live in.
I wouldn't say that people are losing their souls to television, but I will say that people put their souls on hold when they watch too much tv. And a soul cannot grow while it is on hold.
A bit melodramatic, I realize this, but I really feel that this is true.
Some people say that they only watch good tv, tv with a message, or educational shows, or only well-crafted programs with good acting and a lot of thought behind them. That's all fine and good, but if it's more than a couple hours a week, they are still stunting their own personal growth by sitting there in front of that tv.
No matter how educational a show is, you shouldn't sacrifice hours of your own precious life watching it.
Life is so very precious, even if it's horrible. People often say they watch tv to escape reality, because reality is so awful a lot of the time. I say look life in the face, and say "You suck, life! But I'm going to spend my time seeing how I can make life better, even if it's in the smallest ways."
And my friends, you can't make your life better by watching tv. It will never happen. Everyone can see the truth in that statement.
Turn off your tv today and ask yourself how you can make your own life better, in some small way, tomorrow.
Good night.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
TV Addicts in the 70s?
I have one more thing to say on the topic of blogs about TV addiction. If you have searched for blogs by people who are addicted to TV, and are trying to quit, you have more likely found a bunch of blogs by people who call themselves TV addicts with pride.
These people say "I am a TV addict!" as if it's a badge of honor, or a cool characteristic about themselves. They think its a quirky feature of their personality.
Can you imagine if someone said "Ha ha ha, I'm addicted to drugs. I can't stop doing drugs, isn't that silly of me?"
Or, "Oh my god, I drank booze for 12 hours this weekend. Can you believe it? I am such a booze hound!"
The thing of it is, television is such a part of our lives now, that people can't remember what it was ever like to not have it around. Many people under 30 can't remember what it was like not to have cable tv, and people under 40 may have always had a VCR in their houses, at least a Betamax, if not VHS.
Before then, we didn't have customized shows, and there were only four to six channels to choose from -- ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and maybe a couple of local stations. Eventually, FOX came along, but only after cable had been established for many years.
So, what did people do then? My gosh, what did they do? Did they spend all their time surfing between those four crappy little channels? Back and forth, back and forth? Did they have a favorite -- "I ONLY watch ABC."
I don't think so. I think they did other things. TV just didn't have the draw it does now. Yes, sure, people watched it, and some of them watched a lot of it, I'm sure. But it just wasn't as, well, as good as it is now. It wasn't as customized, for one thing. These days, if you have cable, you will probably be able to find something to hold your attention. There are movie channels that show nothing but movies, all day long.
In the old days, back in the 70s, or, if you didn't have cable, the 80s too, the only time movies were on TV was on a Friday or Saturday night (I don't really remember), or maybe on a Sunday, if they were showing a Disney movie.
There was no Tivo. You couldn't record a show on tape and keep it on your shelf, so you could watch it over and over, whenever you felt like sitting and doing nothing. You were at the mercy of the network executives, and if you didn't like what was on TV right then, you had nowhere to turn. You just had to turn it off and walk away.
And so that's what people did. They walked away and did other things. They were in bowling leagues. They sat outside and talked to their neighbors. They played cards. They went for walks. They were healthier.
That, my friends, is a fact. Look it up. People were healthier -- they were less obese and had fewer chronic diseases in the 70s, and to a lesser extent, in the 80s. There are many reasons for this, but I think TV, and the changes that have been made in TV since the 70s, are an important contributor.
People got out more, and did more things, instead of watching TV, because back then TV wasn't as compelling. It is now. Not always, not everything, but TV is way slicker and can draw you in faster now. And it's more customized. There are many many channels to choose from, whatever your bag.
Is TV evil? Are you evil for watching it? No, of course not. But are you living when you are watching TV? No. You are sitting and staring. And you are not even meditating. There have been studies of the brainwaves of people while they are watching TV. I don't remember the particulars, but it wasn't reassuring. I will look them up later. Right now I have to go to bed.
These people say "I am a TV addict!" as if it's a badge of honor, or a cool characteristic about themselves. They think its a quirky feature of their personality.
Can you imagine if someone said "Ha ha ha, I'm addicted to drugs. I can't stop doing drugs, isn't that silly of me?"
Or, "Oh my god, I drank booze for 12 hours this weekend. Can you believe it? I am such a booze hound!"
The thing of it is, television is such a part of our lives now, that people can't remember what it was ever like to not have it around. Many people under 30 can't remember what it was like not to have cable tv, and people under 40 may have always had a VCR in their houses, at least a Betamax, if not VHS.
Before then, we didn't have customized shows, and there were only four to six channels to choose from -- ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and maybe a couple of local stations. Eventually, FOX came along, but only after cable had been established for many years.
So, what did people do then? My gosh, what did they do? Did they spend all their time surfing between those four crappy little channels? Back and forth, back and forth? Did they have a favorite -- "I ONLY watch ABC."
I don't think so. I think they did other things. TV just didn't have the draw it does now. Yes, sure, people watched it, and some of them watched a lot of it, I'm sure. But it just wasn't as, well, as good as it is now. It wasn't as customized, for one thing. These days, if you have cable, you will probably be able to find something to hold your attention. There are movie channels that show nothing but movies, all day long.
In the old days, back in the 70s, or, if you didn't have cable, the 80s too, the only time movies were on TV was on a Friday or Saturday night (I don't really remember), or maybe on a Sunday, if they were showing a Disney movie.
There was no Tivo. You couldn't record a show on tape and keep it on your shelf, so you could watch it over and over, whenever you felt like sitting and doing nothing. You were at the mercy of the network executives, and if you didn't like what was on TV right then, you had nowhere to turn. You just had to turn it off and walk away.
And so that's what people did. They walked away and did other things. They were in bowling leagues. They sat outside and talked to their neighbors. They played cards. They went for walks. They were healthier.
That, my friends, is a fact. Look it up. People were healthier -- they were less obese and had fewer chronic diseases in the 70s, and to a lesser extent, in the 80s. There are many reasons for this, but I think TV, and the changes that have been made in TV since the 70s, are an important contributor.
People got out more, and did more things, instead of watching TV, because back then TV wasn't as compelling. It is now. Not always, not everything, but TV is way slicker and can draw you in faster now. And it's more customized. There are many many channels to choose from, whatever your bag.
Is TV evil? Are you evil for watching it? No, of course not. But are you living when you are watching TV? No. You are sitting and staring. And you are not even meditating. There have been studies of the brainwaves of people while they are watching TV. I don't remember the particulars, but it wasn't reassuring. I will look them up later. Right now I have to go to bed.
There's Always Time for a Little TV
Someone has actually read this blog, as evidenced by the 1 comment I received today on my first post. It's funny -- a few months before I started this blog, I was searching through websites looking for anti-television stuff, or just stories of people like me, who were addicted to television, and were trying to do something about it. I hardly found any regular websites about quitting tv, but I found quite a few blogs on the subject.
However, I noticed a pattern with most of these blogs ... the author would make the initial post, with a lot of grand language about why they were fed up with tv, and how they hated themselves for watching it, and they would declare a moratorium on tv, and invite all of us readers along with them on their journey, as they quit tv forever.
Then, they wouldn't make any more posts ... or just a few more, and then stop forever.
This would make me mad. Had they started watching tv again, and were just too ashamed to admit it in their blog? Or, had they become so liberated from quitting tv, that they had leapt off into their new, enriching and exciting lives, forgetting all about us readers?
And now, it would appear, I am one of the former. Well, except that I never declared that I would quit tv. Not yet. But I have been slow to make a second post. I've been busy. (I've been watching tv, but I've also been busy.)
Which brings me to a good point. Why do we make time for tv? Of all the things that we have to do and, more importantly, WANT to do in our lives, why do we feel that we have all this time to watch tv?
Or rather, why do we convince ourselves that we're too tired to do anything else but watch tv? We are smart people -- we have interests, no matter how few, that should trump tv any day. Why do we come home from work or school (or from nowhere at all, if we're unemployed), and plop down in front of the tv, exhausted, and just sit in front of it for hours???
Are we REALLY that tired, SO tired, that we can't possibly do anything else besides sit, motionless, occasionally giggling or making a comment, and stare?
Maybe we, all of us tv addicts, should try this: Next time we find ourselves sitting and staring at the tv (or, even better, BEFORE we have turned on the tv), we should just sit motionless, and stare at nothing. Stare at the wall, stare at the bookshelf, stare at a picture on the wall, stare out the window. Whatever. Just sit and stare and be motionless. See how that feels. That's considered meditating by many people.
But you can consider it sitting and staring, for these purposes. When you get bored with sitting and staring, get up and do something else. Because obviously you are not too tired to do anything but sit and stare.
I will try it too. Let's all try it. We have lives beyond our tvs. Let's start living them.
However, I noticed a pattern with most of these blogs ... the author would make the initial post, with a lot of grand language about why they were fed up with tv, and how they hated themselves for watching it, and they would declare a moratorium on tv, and invite all of us readers along with them on their journey, as they quit tv forever.
Then, they wouldn't make any more posts ... or just a few more, and then stop forever.
This would make me mad. Had they started watching tv again, and were just too ashamed to admit it in their blog? Or, had they become so liberated from quitting tv, that they had leapt off into their new, enriching and exciting lives, forgetting all about us readers?
And now, it would appear, I am one of the former. Well, except that I never declared that I would quit tv. Not yet. But I have been slow to make a second post. I've been busy. (I've been watching tv, but I've also been busy.)
Which brings me to a good point. Why do we make time for tv? Of all the things that we have to do and, more importantly, WANT to do in our lives, why do we feel that we have all this time to watch tv?
Or rather, why do we convince ourselves that we're too tired to do anything else but watch tv? We are smart people -- we have interests, no matter how few, that should trump tv any day. Why do we come home from work or school (or from nowhere at all, if we're unemployed), and plop down in front of the tv, exhausted, and just sit in front of it for hours???
Are we REALLY that tired, SO tired, that we can't possibly do anything else besides sit, motionless, occasionally giggling or making a comment, and stare?
Maybe we, all of us tv addicts, should try this: Next time we find ourselves sitting and staring at the tv (or, even better, BEFORE we have turned on the tv), we should just sit motionless, and stare at nothing. Stare at the wall, stare at the bookshelf, stare at a picture on the wall, stare out the window. Whatever. Just sit and stare and be motionless. See how that feels. That's considered meditating by many people.
But you can consider it sitting and staring, for these purposes. When you get bored with sitting and staring, get up and do something else. Because obviously you are not too tired to do anything but sit and stare.
I will try it too. Let's all try it. We have lives beyond our tvs. Let's start living them.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Why I Started This Blog
Hi, and welcome to the first post of Television Is Eating My Life. I am an admitted tv addict. I often find myself compelled to watch tv. I also use tv to distract myself from my problems, or to kill time when I'm bored. I watch tv every single day.
This has not always been the case. About 8 years ago, I was disgusted by the amount of tv I watched. I'd come home from work, switch it on, and on it would stay until I went to bed. At the time, I was living with my boyfriend, and he worked a late shift. The tv kept me company until he got home at 11:30pm. I had a set schedule of programs I would watch. I kept time by what show was on. I didn't do much else while the tv was on but sit and watch it.
One day it struck me how utterly sick and ludicrous this behavior was, no matter how many ways I tried to rationalize it. So one night I decided that I wouldn't watch any tv at all, no matter how much I wanted to, or how many ways I convinced myself that just a little tv wouldn't hurt. It was extremely difficult! I felt very uncomfortable. I tried various things to entertain myself, but nothing seemed interesting for very long. I even paced the room a bit. But I did make it through that night without watching tv.
After that I tried to cut down, to moderate. My circumstances changed. I moved to another city, and then another city. And then another country. In none of those places did I have cable tv (which helped cut down on temptation). When I lived in another country, I didn't get reception where I lived, but I still watched videos. Not quite as bad, but still a time vacuum. But now I'm back in the US, and I'm living in a place that has cable tv, and I'm hooked again. Once again, I'm disgusted with myself, and disturbed at how much of my life is rendered utterly meaningless by my actions.
I can't believe how uncomfortable it feels to quit tv. I'm an intelligent person. I have a high IQ -- I've qualified to join Mensa. I enjoy reading. I can sit and read a book for a long time. I have friends. I go out with them on a regular basis. I am in decent shape and enjoy physical activity. I live in a temperate climate and am not housebound. I have many options.
There are also a myriad of things I hate about television. I hate the commercials. I hate (most) insipid sitcoms. I hate trashy reality tv. I hate talk shows. I hate game shows. I hate soap operas. I hate slick, sexualized tv news. I really hate cop shows. I hate the vicarious pornoviolence of most forensic detective shows. I hate how the government and the media are such dangerous bedfellows.
And of course, I hate how television eats my life up. Or, I should say, how I let it eat my life up.
Yet, I'm still compelled to watch it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It sounds like an addiction, doesn't it?
So I feel I must treat it like an addiction. In later chapters of this blog, I will discuss the various aspects of television addiction, and how I am trying to quit. This blog will also serve as a distraction for me, protecting me from the siren's call of that gray void sitting across from me in my living room.
Please feel free to add any comments, even if it is just to say Hi. I'd like to know who is reading this blog.
This has not always been the case. About 8 years ago, I was disgusted by the amount of tv I watched. I'd come home from work, switch it on, and on it would stay until I went to bed. At the time, I was living with my boyfriend, and he worked a late shift. The tv kept me company until he got home at 11:30pm. I had a set schedule of programs I would watch. I kept time by what show was on. I didn't do much else while the tv was on but sit and watch it.
One day it struck me how utterly sick and ludicrous this behavior was, no matter how many ways I tried to rationalize it. So one night I decided that I wouldn't watch any tv at all, no matter how much I wanted to, or how many ways I convinced myself that just a little tv wouldn't hurt. It was extremely difficult! I felt very uncomfortable. I tried various things to entertain myself, but nothing seemed interesting for very long. I even paced the room a bit. But I did make it through that night without watching tv.
After that I tried to cut down, to moderate. My circumstances changed. I moved to another city, and then another city. And then another country. In none of those places did I have cable tv (which helped cut down on temptation). When I lived in another country, I didn't get reception where I lived, but I still watched videos. Not quite as bad, but still a time vacuum. But now I'm back in the US, and I'm living in a place that has cable tv, and I'm hooked again. Once again, I'm disgusted with myself, and disturbed at how much of my life is rendered utterly meaningless by my actions.
I can't believe how uncomfortable it feels to quit tv. I'm an intelligent person. I have a high IQ -- I've qualified to join Mensa. I enjoy reading. I can sit and read a book for a long time. I have friends. I go out with them on a regular basis. I am in decent shape and enjoy physical activity. I live in a temperate climate and am not housebound. I have many options.
There are also a myriad of things I hate about television. I hate the commercials. I hate (most) insipid sitcoms. I hate trashy reality tv. I hate talk shows. I hate game shows. I hate soap operas. I hate slick, sexualized tv news. I really hate cop shows. I hate the vicarious pornoviolence of most forensic detective shows. I hate how the government and the media are such dangerous bedfellows.
And of course, I hate how television eats my life up. Or, I should say, how I let it eat my life up.
Yet, I'm still compelled to watch it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It sounds like an addiction, doesn't it?
So I feel I must treat it like an addiction. In later chapters of this blog, I will discuss the various aspects of television addiction, and how I am trying to quit. This blog will also serve as a distraction for me, protecting me from the siren's call of that gray void sitting across from me in my living room.
Please feel free to add any comments, even if it is just to say Hi. I'd like to know who is reading this blog.
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